BATFU Gives Pokey-Poke a Passy-Pass

A while back I received an email from CDT about my "Planet of the Ape" exposé on anti-gun Mark "Pokey Poke" Wahlberg (that's also the article Larry Elder referenced in his book). The essence of the piece is that Wahlberg has been convicted of violent crimes, and his handling of any actual firearms in films could be a violation of federal law. And it also explains the origin of the nickname I've given him.

Tavares' email said in part:

I used it as research material to write a letter on the subject to the BATF tonight. I asked them for a formal response as to why Wahlberg gets a pass when others don't.

Here are the results of his inquiry:

To those who asked me to keep them informed if the BATF ever responded to my letter of complaint about convicted felon Mark Wahlberg getting a "free pass" to possess guns while making one Hollywood shoot-em-up after another: the BATF has responded.

There are only three sentences of actual content buried in a page and a half of pap. The first is a restatement of the definition of firearm in 27 CFR 478.11. The next two say:

"Because you saw this individual possessing a gun in a movie trailer, it is not known whether or not this item meets this definition. The possibility exists that it could have been a movie prop and made to function as a real weapon through the use of special effects."

In my original letter, I wrote, "Please consider this a formal complaint. I ask that you look into this situation..." BATF's response: we won't even investigate. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Imagine reporting a screaming street-rape to 911 and being told, "We're not coming out, because... well, you know, it's possible that they're just role-playing and she's actually enjoying it." Same logic, after all.

I have both my letter and BATF's scanned and waiting to go on the web. I have a TIME magazine photo of Wahlberg waving a pistol in a shot from "Four Brothers." I'm waiting to obtain a vidcap of Bob Hoskins brandishing the "toon gun" from Roger Rabbit. I want to run the page under the headline, "If you can tell the difference... the BATF needs you!"

To those who might be inclined to agree that B-A-T-F-U had insufficient evidence to go after Wahlberg, just remember that a picture in the paper was one of the reasons used to stormtroop in and destroy Wayne Fincher's life. Besides, movie productions keep meticulous accounting records on props rented, armorers and trainers hired, etc. Determining the truth would be an afternoon's work for a competent investigator.

Separate But Unequal

Fincher and other Militia of Washington County members were featured in a March 2006 front-page report in The Morning News, firing the weapons. That report, according to federal law enforcement officials, was what prompted them to begin investigating Fincher and the group.--The Morning News

So a couple pictures and some quotes in the local paper is enough to prod the feds into sticking an informant in the midst of citizens exercising their natural rights guaranteed by the Constitution?

That's quite different from the attitude they conveyed in regards to actor Mark Wahlberg*, where they said:

"Because you saw this individual possessing a gun in a movie trailer, it is not known whether or not this item meets this definition. The possibility exists that it could have been a movie prop and made to function as a real weapon through the use of special effects."

Wahlberg, you'll recall, "pled guilty to two counts of criminal contempt, each count carrying 'a maximum penalty of ten years in a house of correction or ten thousand dollars or both.' The Commonwealth's Sentencing Memorandum supported "the recommendation that the Defendant be sentenced to two years at the Deer Island House of Corrections, ninety days committed, with the balance suspended for two years."

As I wrote earlier, "Title I of the Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits certain classes of persons from 'purchasing, receiving or transporting firearms or ammunition in interstate commerce.' Among these are persons 'convicted of or under indictment for a felony ... Such persons correspondingly are prohibited from purchasing or otherwise acquiring any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped in interstate commerce.'"

Hmmm...seems "interstate commerce" factored in the Fincher case as well...

And per 18 USC Chapter 44, Sec. 922, "Unlawful Acts":

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person - (1) is under indictment for, or has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

and

It shall be unlawful for any person...who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; to...possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

Interstate commerce again--and it looks like it could trip up not just Pokey-Poke, but anyone who employs him and provides him with "any firearm."

Which brings us to my old pals on Calguns Forums, where a couple of interesting pictures were posted, along with a reference for the gunsmith who provided the studios with the weaponry used in them (via interstate commerce). Surely BATFU has enough to look into this--if they wanted to.

Now understand: The gunsmith is surely innocent of any infraction, as knowledge is a component of any violation. He is dealing with licensed armorers and completing all required transaction records in accordance with federal law--records BATFU has access to, so their earlier excuse rings hollow. But he would be able to verify whether or not the prop he supplied was a functional firearm--again, as would BATFU, with a simple phone call. Whether the studios that employ Mr. Wahlberg know of his criminal past becomes more problematic.

Also understand this: I would never report this to the feds, although I won't let the possibility that they lurk here from time to time inhibit what I have to say--as far as I'm concerned, Mr. Wahlberg should have exactly the same claim to the Second Amendment we all do, as should all others free to live outside of custodial restraint imposed via due process.

I merely point out that Mr. Fincher is no less deserving of the same freedom, and that the government has knowingly subjected him to a different standard of enforcement.

----------

*"I believe Charlton Heston is America's best villain because he loves guns so much. Maybe he should get the award for being president of the National Rifle Association."--Mark Wahlberg, MTV Movie Awards

[Thanks to TF for the picture link]

A Beautiful Thing

"Well, I would love it if they could take all the guns away. Unfortunately, you can't do that so you hope that good people in the world have them to protect the people who can't protect themselves," he says.

"Certainly, I haven't used a gun anywhere other than on a movie set and I'd like to see if we could take them all away. It would be a beautiful thing."

Of course it would be, Pokey Poke. Then apes with sticks could rule the planet.

Correspondent Red Dot brought up the Pokester's troubled past with an instructor at Front Sight, and was told "all the troubles Pokey Poke had experienced were while a juvenile and thus sealed and inapplicable. And the 'internet rumors' were wrong."

Not according to the Suffolk County Clerk's Office for Criminal Business:

Has Mr. Wahlberg's record been expunged?

The answer was "No, it is public record."

Was defendant Wahlberg sentenced as a juvenile or as an adult?

"He was tried as an adult."

I guess I'm going to need to start digging around again, and see if anything has changed since I spoke with them six years ago.

[Via 45superman]

andersonpau@ccsu.edu

For CCSU student John Wahlberg, a class presentation on campus violence turned into a confrontation with the campus police due to a complaint by the professor. [More]

Paula Anderson doesn't even want to let us talk about it? This is a "communications professor"? What is that, some kind of Orwellian sick joke?

I wonder if she realizes the implications of using police state tactics to close that door?

Someone ought to tell her.

And Wahlberg should have told his inquisitioners to speak to his attorney. I hope they end up doing so, along with a certain miserable Marxist sow.

[Via JD]

UPDATE:

Mike's trying to get me in trouble.



I guess I deflected that.


Oh, and this was the link I included.

Me oh my--the trouble us boys get ourselves into...

Wahlberg pardon bid ignores outstanding gun questions

The questions those processing his pardon application may want to investigate include, has Wahlberg -- and those providing him with weapons in the course of his acting career -- been in violation of the law on multiple occasions over the years? What would happen to a “prohibited person” of lesser fame, wealth and connections for possessing firearms without receiving a full pardon, and would they have the means to obtain one? [More]

Today's Gun Rights Examiner report notes anti-gun actors shouldn't be the only ones who can flout "gun laws."

Shut Up and Entertain

Mark Wahlberg Thinks Celebrities Need to Shut Up About Politics [More]

Good for him. Not to take one last poke, but I like to think that this may have had some catalyst effect on his transformation.

Teeing with the Enemy

Wahlberg, Rock to Play in Legends of Golf Skins Match [More]

Anti-gun prohibited person Pokey Poke?

Fraternizing with guys who sell these and these?

Somebody shanked that shot.

[Via Hayden]

Too Little Too Late

To serve Hollywood's marquee felons like Mark Wahlberg (currently brandishing a Glock 17 as a cop in Patriots Day) and Danny Trejo (most recently armed with an M1911A1 pistol in 2013's Machete Kills) — who aren't allowed by law to bear arms — ISS has a roster of realistic electronic guns (also known as e-guns or non-guns) that can stand in for everything from Smith & Wessons to Uzis. [More]

Sure, after I exposed him -- and importantly, their liability under U.S. Code for knowingly providing him with real guns.

This after-the-fact cleanup diverts attention from what was done before he was outed. The films all have extensive financial and inventory records with designated retention periods in case of later tax audits. Those include records for  the armorers that could be easily checked.

Besides, this slick cover-up ignores one incontrovertible piece of evidence: Pokey trained at Front Sight.

If people are truly interested in "equal justice for all," a nobody rapper should not be treated differently in the eyes of the law than "progressive" Hollywood establishment elites. As ATF did when it showed deliberate indifference.

[Via Ravenwood]

Pardoning Pokey Poke

Mark Wahlberg seeks pardon from Massachusetts for assaults committed in 1988 [More]

The article seems kind of tame in describing what this guy did. And why would he need a pardon?

Maybe there's something to that "speculation" about him not being able to touch guns in the course of his employment...

Max Gall

Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent (Wahlberg) whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin (Kunis) out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

Ah, our old pal anti-gun Pokey-Poke, making a ton of money off a film adaptation of a third-person shooter game.

I notice anti-gun champion Beau Bridges co-stars, meaning he's not above a little unprincipled profiteering, either. Yeah, study "martial arts," Beau--and be sure and let the next guy who puts a gun to your head know how good you are at it.

You're right about one thing--it must have been "a little chicken joint." You were in it.

[Via AlanDP from "Comments"]

Thank Your Lucky Stars

Once they’re off script, we’re basically dealing with people who live in a bubble of celebrity privilege, where those at the top attain their station and remain there by adhering to Hollywood’s “progressive” orthodoxy, one that will tolerate no “heresies” nor recognize and reward traditional “conservative” American values. That probably goes a long way to explain how screwed up so many of these people are in real life, as evidenced by the celebrity tabloids screaming about their latest scandals from the supermarket checkout counter racks. So few of them, it seems, control themselves. How telling those seem to be the ones bent on controlling the rest of us. [More]

What do Kim Kardashian, Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, Mark Wahlberg, John Mayer and Chris Evans have in common?  Go on, guess.

(I actually submitted this at the start of last month, but my editor told me I had a day before press time to submit an election post-mortem.  I actually prepped two outlines and fleshed out the one where Trump won the day after the vote.)

Dial "B" for BATFU

By now you've probably heard of suggestions by Wayne LaPierre and others to call the BATFU hotline and report Michael Bloomberg's self-proclaimed "straw purchases."

Tommy Sherman tried it, and here are the results:

David,

I called the ATF 800 # hotline to complain about Bloomingberg's obvious violations of the laws in his straw purchase scam. The call was answered in DC by a booger picking dweeb that wasn't the least bit interested in taking any calls about any illegialities. I was transferred to another dweeb in DC that referred & transferred me to the NY ATF office. No one answered at NY, obviously too busy out investigating minor infractions.

Tommy Sherman

Nah, I'm sure they're just all hot on the trail of Mark Wahlberg...

Considering the Source

Every once in a while I like to browse around the Internet to see whether or not all this effort is at least getting dispersed, and every once in a while I learn something about that dispersal I didn't know.

I was aware that many of my GUNS Magazine articles are for sale at Amazon.com, even though it looks like no one is buying them--that's no surprise as I link to past columns at the magazine's site each month here for free.

Anyway, I just had a first. My name and work turned up in a place I had no idea they had wandered into: Larry Elder cited me in Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies, and the Special Interests that Divide America. More specifically, he cited my KABA expose on actor Mark Wahlberg (be sure to visit the Pokey Poke Picture Gallery at the end).

"Yawn," you might say, but I've never been cited as a book source before, so to get endnoted by a nationally syndicated radio host, columnist and New York Times bestselling author is a big deal for me. Naturally, I had to run right out and buy a copy. (Writing isn't supposed to work this way. It's not supposed to cost me money.)

Still, I haven't felt this famous since some musically retarded college buddies and I appeared on Houlihan and Big Chuck's "New Talent Time" a lifetime ago...